N.F.L. Schedule: Here’s Who We Think Will Win in Week 7

Quarterback Carson Palmer, left, and running back David Johnson will lead the Cardinals into a key N.F.C. West matchup with the Seahawks on Sunday night.Credit
Christian Petersen/Getty Images

The N.F.L. season is not even at its halfway point, but Sunday night’s matchup could decide the N.F.C. West, as the Seattle Seahawks travel to Arizona with the hope of burying the Cardinals. It should be the game of the week after Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s knee injury spoiled a tantalizing matchup with Patriots quarterback Tom Brady on Sunday afternoon. Here is a look at Sunday’s matchups and who we think will win them.

Seahawks (4-1) at Cardinals (3-3)

8:30 p.m. Line: Cardinals by 1 ½

It seems ridiculous to attach so much importance to a Week 7 game, but in a meeting of division rivals that excel on both sides of the ball, it could go a long way to determining how things play out in the N.F.C. West. If the Cardinals win, it’s a race to the finish. If they lose, Seattle’s lead will become nearly insurmountable.

In the past, it would have been up to Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer to get things done, but at 36, he has shown signs of decline beyond recent injuries. He seems to have several plays a game in which he just misses on deep throws that would have been touchdowns in the past.

With Palmer’s “home run” ability gone, David Johnson has become all-important to Arizona’s offense. A dynamic second-year running back, he frustrates defenses by being an effective runner — he is third in the N.F.L. with 568 rushing yards — and by serving as a safety valve for the passing game, turning swing passes into huge gains. With far less fanfare than Dallas’s Ezekiel Elliott, he is leading the N.F.L. in yards from scrimmage with 833 to Elliott’s 801.

The Cardinals may get a lift if the mammoth run-blocking guard Mike Iupati can return from ligament damage in his ankle. But they should score enough to win if they put the ball in Johnson’s hands; it hardly matters whether he is catching it or running with it.

Patriots (5-1) at Steelers (4-2)

4:25 p.m. Line: Patriots by 7 ½

This game was eagerly awaited, but Roethlisberger’s absence takes away much of the drama.

Losing Roethlisberger is a blow to the entire offense, but to wide receiver Antonio Brown, especially. Last season, in the 12 games he played with Roethlisberger (11 that he started and one in which he came on in relief for most of the game), Brown averaged 9.9 catches for 133 yards, scoring 10 touchdowns. In the four games Brown played primarily with Pittsburgh’s other quarterback options, he averaged four catches for 59 yards and did not score. A similar downturn by Brown would sink the Pittsburgh offense, even with Le’Veon Bell at his best.

Pittsburgh’s "bend but don’t break” defensive approach is risky against the Patriots, who can send tight ends Rob Gronkowski and Martellus Bennett out on any red zone play and watch as they outrun, outjump and outmuscle anyone who tries to get in their way.

Pick: Patriots

Vikings (5-0) at Eagles (3-2)

1 p.m. Line: Vikings by 2 ½

You might think that Sam Bradford facing the Eagles, the team that traded him in the preseason, would result in a revenge game, but how could there be bitterness on either side? Bradford is the starting quarterback for the N.F.L.’s last undefeated team. The Eagles were clearly wise to hand the offense to the rookie Carson Wentz, who has lost two games in a row but has yet to produce fewer than 20 points in a game and has the makings of a star. The advantage goes to the Vikings, though. Their elite secondary will give any passing team a tough day.

Pick: Vikings

Redskins (4-2) at Lions (3-3)

1 p.m. Line: Lions by 1

Toward the end of Detroit’s Week 5 win over Philadelphia, Golden Tate had a big reception that helped set up a go-ahead field goal. It was the lone bright point in what had been a tumultuous start to the season, but it apparently sparked something inside him; last week, he had eight catches for 165 yards and a touchdown in a win over Los Angeles. If Tate returns to his form of the last few seasons, the Lions’ offense will be in good shape.

Pick: Lions

Raiders (4-2) at Jaguars (2-3)

1 p.m. Line: Jaguars by 1

Oakland’s productive passing attack had a rare poor showing last week, but holding quarterback Derek Carr to 10 points again would be too much to ask of Jacksonville’s developing young defense. The Raiders have too many options.

Bills (4-2) at Dolphins (2-4)

1 p.m. Line: Bills by 3

The Bills’ hot streak after an 0-2 start seemed to come out of nowhere, and it is hard to believe it will end against the Dolphins. Riding some great play by the team’s defense, a tough rushing attack and enough passing to keep defenses honest, Buffalo has turned into an ideal Rex Ryan team, and that is bad news for Miami.

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Giants (3-3) at Rams (3-3)

9:30 a.m. Line: Giants by 3

The N.F.L.’s forays to Europe continue with this game at England’s Twickenham Stadium, which usually hosts big rugby matches. Because the Rams are the home team, they will play only seven games in Los Angeles in their first year back in the city. The fans at home may be O.K. with skipping what could become an ugly game if the Rams’ defense continues to struggle.

Pick: Giants

Saints (2-3) at Chiefs (3-2)

1 p.m. Line: Chiefs by 6 ½

Neither of these teams has shown enough consistency for there to be a worthwhile prediction. The Chiefs’ most reliable asset is their secondary, and the most reliable thing about the Saints is that their defense will be terrible nearly every week. So those two things should combine for a Chiefs victory in some form.

Pick: Chiefs

Buccaneers (2-3) at 49ers (1-5)

4:05 p.m. Line: Buccaneers by 1 ½

Starting at quarterback last week for the first time in nearly a year, Colin Kaepernick played fairly well but was not able to win. San Francisco’s defense was so bad at slowing the Buffalo offense that Joe Montana and Steve Young, in their prime, might have had a hard time winning as well. This week, Kaepernick is home against a terrible defense, and he will have a better chance to show what he can do under Coach Chip Kelly.

Pick: 49ers

Chargers (2-4) at Falcons (4-2)

4:05 p.m. Line: Falcons by 6 ½

The Falcons, whose four-game winning streak ended last week, have been playing well with Matt Ryan reasserting himself as a star quarterback and receiver Julio Jones looking unstoppable when healthy. This week, they will add style to the mix: The combination of a black jersey and white pants is a throwback to their 1966 uniforms; a black helmet recalls their look of the late 1990s; and their black-, red- and white-striped socks should look fantastic as they streak past San Diego players and into the end zone.

Pick: Falcons

Browns (0-6) at Bengals (2-4)

1 p.m. Line: Bengals by 10

Joe Haden, Cleveland’s top cornerback, is nursing a groin injury and would be wise to let it heal another week, as his presence won’t prevent this game from being a slaughter. If anything, he might want to look into some sort of cryogenic freezing process so he could sit out several seasons and then be reanimated when the Browns have built a roster with more than four or five interesting players. The same goes for Joe Thomas, the team’s dominant offensive tackle, whose prime years are being wasted.

Pick: Bengals

Ravens (3-3) at Jets (1-5)

1 p.m. Line: Even

Ryan Fitzpatrick has lost the starting quarterback position to Geno Smith, which will probably cost him the chance to complete an amazing reversal: Last season, he broke Vinny Testaverde’s franchise record for single-season passing touchdowns, which had stood since 1998, and this season, he was nearly on a pace to break Al Dorow’s franchise record for single-season interceptions, which has stood since 1961 (and was matched by Richard Todd in 1980).

Pick: Ravens

Colts (2-4) at Titans (3-3)

1 p.m. Line: Titans by 3

DeMarco Murray is probably not as good as he looked in Dallas two seasons ago, but he is also not as bad as he looked in Philadelphia last season. Entering his seventh game with the Titans, he needs 176 rushing yards and two touchdowns to match his 15-game totals from last year. Running behind one of the best offensive lines and against one of the worst defenses just might get him there.

Pick: Titans

Correction: October 30, 2016
A picture caption last Sunday with an article previewing the Week 7 N.F.L. games misidentified the team the Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson scored against the previous week. It was the Jets, not the Giants.

All times are Eastern. Picks do not reflect the betting line.

A version of this article appears in print on October 23, 2016, on Page SP5 of the New York edition with the headline: An Early Showdown in the Desert. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe